NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 4- 12 police officers have been arrested and charged with murder and abduction, within a span of one week, compiled incidents by Shahidi News have revealed.
The latest arrests were of five Police officers on Wednesday. They have since been charged with the murder of a man in Kochia area in Homabay County and a warrant of arrest for a sixth suspect, who is a former police officer.
The killing happened in September 2017.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) identified the five officers as police constables Michael Ochango, Silas Anyira, Bernard Maritim, Steven Owino, and Wycliffe Cheptoo.
The sixth is Constable Edwin Moenga.
According to investigations carried out by IPOA, the six officers committed the act during a raid at the home of Sylvanus Oree Owinji, on suspicion he was dealing with bhang. It was on September 17, 2017.
What followed, IPOA said, was an altercation that led to serious injury of the victim who was pronounced dead the following day.
“Owinji was pronounced dead the following day at Homa Bay Referral Hospital where he was transferred after the duty officer at Rangwe police station declined to place him in custody due to the injuries he had suffered,” IPOA said in a statement.
“During the arrest, the police officers used force and consequently Owinji sustained injuries which a pathologist determined to be the cause of death,” IPOA chairperson Ann Makori said.
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji approved the charges as recommended by IPOA.
“An arrest warrant was issued against PC Moenga who has since exited the Service,” IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori said.
-Warrant of Arrest-
Last week, a Nairobi court had issued a warrant of arrest for four other police officers then based at Huruma police station.
The officers are being charged with the offence of abducting in order to murder.
Among them was a Constable who disappeared after he was accused of another killing a man in May 2016.
Constable Carlistus Ekidor Apalia was again implicated together with his three colleagues believed to have been behind the disappearance of Philip Otieno Ondiro, who was last seen on February 1, 2015.
IPOA said Constables Apalia, Francis Githonga, Samwel Mokaya Makori, and Alex Munene are to be charged with the offence of abducting in order to murder.
The investigations revealed that four, while armed with guns, stormed a house in Kiamaiko within Huruma, Nairobi, pulled out Ondiro, bundled him into a waiting car, and drove off.
“The investigation established the incident amounted to criminal culpability and recommended to the ODPP, the prosecution of officers suspected of involvement. The ODPP concurred with the Authority’s recommendations that four officers be charged with the offence of abducting in order to murder,” IPOA said on Thursday last week.
Under Section 258 of the Penal Code, any person who kidnaps or abducts any person in order that the person may be murdered, or maybe so disposed of as to be put in danger of being murdered, is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.
One of the accused police officers, Constable Apalia, together with his colleague, Constable David Lenkaldayo had been accused of killing Stephen Gichuru Mwihaki in Huruma Nairobi in May 2015.
The two went into hiding and the matter was in May this year closed after the prosecution failed to arrest and charge them for four and a half years.
The deceased was hosted overnight by his brother and on the fateful day, his brother left at 5.30 am and instructed him to drop off the house keys at a local slaughterhouse.
During the delivery of the house keys at the slaughterhouse at around 8 am, a commotion ensued and he was shot dead by the two Constables.
The case was investigated by the IPOA and the file forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP concurred with IPOA’S recommendations that murder charges be preferred against the two.
The information in the murder case was filed in court on May 17, 2016, but the police service did not present the suspects in court. A warrant of arrest for the two was sought.
The matter was mentioned several times in court between December 7, 2016, and March 1, 2017.
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